All-Star guard James Harden is eyeing a move to the Brooklyn Nets and wants to move on from the Rockets, according to a Monday update from Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. The NBA’s trade moratorium is now over, which allows transactions to occur at any time.
However, with Harden under contract for at least two more seasons, it’s unclear whether the Rockets would actually move him.
Here’s what Smith writes in his latest column:
But Harden wants to move on from the Rockets, the Chronicle has been informed, and is trying to force his way via trade to Brooklyn, allowing The Beard to form the NBA’s next superteam and rejoin forces with former Oklahoma City teammate Kevin Durant.
James Harden wants to move on from the #Rockets and is trying to force his way to Durant's #Nets via trade.
The Rockets want to keep Harden as the face of their franchise but will trade him if it becomes the best option for a franchise in transition. https://t.co/G9hZuRdarM #NBA— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) November 16, 2020
According to Jonathan Feigen, Smith’s colleague at the Houston Chronicle and a longtime Rockets beat writer, the Rockets “believe they can bring in the help” to improve the roster and restore Harden’s confidence in the team’s status as a title contender. As such, they are not believed to have held any trade talks with the Nets involving Harden.
“The Rockets have no interest in tearing things down to restock shelves with draft picks and prospects and start over,” Feigen writes. He correctly points out that with Oklahoma City having the right to swap picks with Houston in the first round of the 2021 draft, there’s minimal incentive for the Rockets to consider rebuilding scenarios at this time.
As such, it seems that Houston will try to delay any blockbuster moves until the 2021 offseason — all while hoping that a stronger-than-expected showing in the 2020-21 season might change the dynamic.
New #Rockets at #TXSN – Rockets’ new leadership on the clock with James Harden, Russell Westbrook https://t.co/g80rPd7VU3
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) November 16, 2020
While things could change quickly, Feigen says recent trade talks by new GM Rafael Stone have been closer to “listening” and “exploring,” rather than “shopping,” at least as it pertains to the team’s stars.
With free agency not opening until 5:00 p.m. Friday, it sounds as if the Rockets may wait until after that point to finalize decisions regarding Harden and Russell Westbrook — since the current objective is restoring their confidence in Houston as a contender, and free agent signings and/or other trades could play a large role in their assessment.
Now 31 years old, Harden has played eight of his 11 NBA seasons with the Rockets, and he’s made the playoffs in all of them. Over the latter stages of that run, “The Beard” has led the league in scoring in each of the last three seasons (34.3 points per game in 2019-20), and he’s the only NBA player to have been both an MVP finalist and an All-NBA First Team member in each of the last four years. Harden was named MVP in 2018.
Despite the personal accolades, though, he’s still searching for his first NBA title — and time isn’t on his side. As such, the pressure is on the Rockets to convince Harden that he can still make it happen in Houston.
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